ER visit

We spent the afternoon in the children's ER yesterday.  I had taken Addison to her pediatrician Friday because I noticed she had a few hives on her trunk & on her face & around one of her ankles.  Her Dr. said it was a reaction to the amoxicillin she'd been taking for 9 days for her ear infection.  She instructed me to discontinue to the medicine & said the hives may take a few days to subside.  I felt comfortable with that & we went about our normal day.  Friday evening she was exceptionally cuddly & quiet (if you read my blog frequently, you know the 2nd part is not my child).  Saturday morning she woke up & now the typical hives presentation had turned into giant clusters with a purple like appearance.  Her poor little fingers were swollen, her elbows looked like somebody had beaten her up & the worst part was that her feet were EXTREMELY swollen.  Again, I tried not to worry & figured it was just remnants of the antibiotic in her system.  Throughout the morning her feet started turning purple, she couldn't walk & acted like she was in a lot of pain.  Her skin was super hot & she now had a fever.  I contacted one of the ER physicians I work with, texted him a picture.  He said to dose her with some benadryl & Motrin, which I had already done.  A few minutes later I got a phone call back & he suggested calling her pediatrician's office, because he didn't like the looks of the pictures I sent.  After talking with the nurse she suggested bringing Addison to the ER.

She wound up getting diagnosed with something called Erythema Multiforme (minor). 

It's a type of hypsersensitivity reaction that occurs in response to medications, infections, & illness. In her case she has a hypersensitivity to amoxicillin. Basically it damages the blood vessels of the skin, followed by damage to skin tissues. Addison had most of the classic symptoms: joint pain/swelling, fever, skin lesions, fatigue & generalized ill feeling. Poor baby. The Dr. said it could last 7 days-3 weeks & that she'll look a lot worse before she starts looking better.  She said to expect every place where there is an individual spot to spread into a cluster, swell then turn purple/bruise-like. She seriously looks miserable.  The treatment is minimal as the illness is self limiting.  Steroids (although she didn't need any yet), benadryl & motrin.

I dosed her with motrin before bed last night & hoped she got a good nights rest. Philip & I both got up multiple times to check on her & she slept soundly through the night until 8:20 this morning. I was hoping that the swelling in her ankles & elbows would have subsided, but it didn't.  Now her wrists & knuckles are swollen. If you think about it today...say a prayer for my sweet baby girl.  She looks absolutely miserable & it breaks my heart to see her swollen feet & hands.